1960's to now : our renovation
Discussion
As you may have seen by my other post sense checking a paving quote we are now making solid plans to get the garden looking upto scratch.
We have done some digging out with the drains and discovered that the two troublesome drains 1) is a land drain/soakaway and 2) the other is inline with the drain in the centre of the garden. This by virtue of the fact one is purely for run off and the other is able to be accessed from another manhole less than 3m we are going to dump the playhouse over the top and worry less!
I think that we are going to go for slab similar to
It is an indian sandstone and seems to be the best option given our budget (not much) and my desire to have something nicer than the standard concrete pressed muck that B&Q flog.
i do quite like the idea of using some cobble setts to build in some other colours - sadly our house is one brick, the garage another, and the garden wall different again, so could be a nifty way to bring some cohesion to the whole garden.
Ive confirmed the finer details with the builder, i.e. full bed mortar, no crappy silly cuts - end it on a whole slab etc, and timescales... and he's booked for around the 1st March.
We have done some digging out with the drains and discovered that the two troublesome drains 1) is a land drain/soakaway and 2) the other is inline with the drain in the centre of the garden. This by virtue of the fact one is purely for run off and the other is able to be accessed from another manhole less than 3m we are going to dump the playhouse over the top and worry less!
I think that we are going to go for slab similar to
It is an indian sandstone and seems to be the best option given our budget (not much) and my desire to have something nicer than the standard concrete pressed muck that B&Q flog.
i do quite like the idea of using some cobble setts to build in some other colours - sadly our house is one brick, the garage another, and the garden wall different again, so could be a nifty way to bring some cohesion to the whole garden.
Ive confirmed the finer details with the builder, i.e. full bed mortar, no crappy silly cuts - end it on a whole slab etc, and timescales... and he's booked for around the 1st March.
croakey said:
WokingWedger said:
How did you resolve the cracks by the lintel in the end?
I have a similar issue.
This is a good question.I have a similar issue.
I've begun to accept we will always have an element of movement in the house as the whole area does. It's mainly heave caused by exceptionally wet London clay and exacerbated by old fashioned "boot" lintels
The attempts to minimise it have meant chasing out the cracks back to brick and the plasterer starting afresh in the hope of them holding off for longer.
I'll be sure to let you know how it progresses
Edited by croakey on Sunday 15th May 23:25
I have yet to do mine !
WokingWedger said:
How did you get on with the cracks above the lintels ?
I have yet to do mine !
Having taken lots of advice we've filled some, hacked all the plaster off and boarded and plastered over... some cracks have appeared again but only very fine and more likely to be settlement. We shall see!I have yet to do mine !
Garden is now fully underway!
Old patio up... and there was ALOT of it (I say that like I know.. but I don't as I was at work!)
Albeit our plot looked level(ish) it's turned out to be all over the shop so the builder has had to work hard to get the levels we need.
The "play" area is stepped down and we are going to build a picket fence to prevent any accidents and keep daughter in once she's old enough and we've bought a play house/ astro Turf etc etc etc.
We decided against having a step down to the path / lawn and are going to slope both to suit. Not everyone's choice, handily we like it, and think less sharp edges to trip over the better
Progress is looking good and I think the cobbles will really set it off.
Old patio up... and there was ALOT of it (I say that like I know.. but I don't as I was at work!)
Albeit our plot looked level(ish) it's turned out to be all over the shop so the builder has had to work hard to get the levels we need.
The "play" area is stepped down and we are going to build a picket fence to prevent any accidents and keep daughter in once she's old enough and we've bought a play house/ astro Turf etc etc etc.
We decided against having a step down to the path / lawn and are going to slope both to suit. Not everyone's choice, handily we like it, and think less sharp edges to trip over the better
Progress is looking good and I think the cobbles will really set it off.
Chris Type R said:
Did the old paving/skirt take much effort to knock out ?
I have no idea, think it took one guy a day to get the old slabs up, and remove the cast concrete.I was at work.
Reality is it would have taken me days... seeing as I'm 32 with a bad back, a dodgy ankle and now a blown knee (joy)
Chris Type R said:
Looking to do something similar in our 60s/70s place this year. We have loads of concrete and old slabs to come up though. Paying someone to do the heavy lifting seems sensible.
It so is. Damage to your back zero
Effort/pulling muscles zero
Fact you don't do it often so learning on the job taking longer
Welshbeef said:
Chris Type R said:
Looking to do something similar in our 60s/70s place this year. We have loads of concrete and old slabs to come up though. Paying someone to do the heavy lifting seems sensible.
It so is. Damage to your back zero
Effort/pulling muscles zero
Fact you don't do it often so learning on the job taking longer
Fitting and levelling flags drove me nuts, steel toe capped boot and decent gloves are a must - everytime I've done it, I wish I'd paid someone else to do it! But like my wife giving birth, I seem to forget how painful it was last time!
Emeye said:
Welshbeef said:
Chris Type R said:
Looking to do something similar in our 60s/70s place this year. We have loads of concrete and old slabs to come up though. Paying someone to do the heavy lifting seems sensible.
It so is. Damage to your back zero
Effort/pulling muscles zero
Fact you don't do it often so learning on the job taking longer
Fitting and levelling flags drove me nuts, steel toe capped boot and decent gloves are a must - everytime I've done it, I wish I'd paid someone else to do it! But like my wife giving birth, I seem to forget how painful it was last time!
Also in sad news I sold my beloved 940 as it was sat doing nothing a majority of the time
Also they're rising in value so I made my money back including all the repairs I had done.
Still stand by that they are unbeatable as a house renovation tool.
Phill_1981 said:
Have enjoyed flicking through this thread this morning! Top work!
Completing on my renovation on Friday and have the same sort of work to do!
Probably been asked before but I love that bathroom - Could you possible tell me where you got the tiles from and the colour/range name.
Thanks
they're from HR Johnsons and called Leaf, i think topps tiles sell them as seagrass for a fair bit more money Completing on my renovation on Friday and have the same sort of work to do!
Probably been asked before but I love that bathroom - Could you possible tell me where you got the tiles from and the colour/range name.
Thanks
Emeye said:
During my 60s house renovation, all the heavy lifting and demolition got me fit! And I enjoy destroying stuff.
For me it makes sense to pay someone to complete tasks so that I can carry on in parallel with other things. If it's the more physically demanding tasks, then so be it 
Almost two years in (in my case) and there's still loads to do/redo. My enthusiasm is waning.Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff